Today is a good time to remind ourselves that — in places around this country and around the world — people wake up empty and frightened every day because of the non-stop violence in their lives. Our hearts must go out to them.

As we grieve terrible events — and do what we can to make our families, neighborhoods, communities, nation, and planet a safe place for all beings — it is equally important to celebrate the beauty of life and express our gratitude for it.

So today, I am asking myself this question: This day, and every day, what might it mean for me to “kneel and kiss the ground”?

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don’t open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are a hundred ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

— Rumi